George Strait talks 'bittersweet' exit and gets a Garth tribute

posted by Chris Willman | Yahoo! Our Country
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3 years ago

(Yahoo!) - George Strait was asked Monday night how he'd be spending his free time after his "Cowboy Rides Away" farewell tour wraps up in 2014. And, in his typical laconic fashion, he didn't sound like he'd given it an undue amount of thought.

"I'm still gonna do a few things. Maybe five or six things, I’m thinking, in the next few years—see what happens," he said, seemingly referring to possible live one-off events. "But I don’t there’ll be a 'Cowboy Rides Back In' tour or anything," he added, chuckling at the thought of a bait-and-switch comeback.

The notoriously press-shy Strait was having a very rare chat with the media backstage at the ASCAP Country Music Awards in Nashville, where he was being honored with the publishing rights organization's highest honor, the Founders Award. The invite-only event was capped by a tribute to Strait that featured Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, and Lee Ann Womacksinging a handful of his 60 No. 1 hits.

Strait is also up for Entertainer of the Year at Wednesday's CMA Awards, a category he hasn't carried since 1990 and even been nominated in since 2009. "I think everybody knows why" he made a comeback in the category, he said, alluding to the farewell tour. "It's such an honor. It's been a while. Any time you get nominated for Entertainer of the Year, which is the award of the night, it’s very, very special. I’m excited about it and I’ll be very nervous that night."